Affairs of the East India Company: Appendix C No. 2

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N.B.—The Indian Currency is converted into British at the following Rates:

Current Rupee, at 2s.

Pagoda (or 3½ Madras Rupees), at 8s.

Bombay Rupee, at 2s. 3d.

Spanish Dollar, at 5s. Od,

India Board, Westminster, 4th January 1830.

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India Board, Westminster, 4th January 1830. (Errors excepted.) Wm. LEACH.

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No. 2. (D.)—Explanatory Notes relative to the Distinctions of Territory observed in the Account No. 2. and its Appendices.

"The Company's Original Possessions" may be understood to comprise, generally, those Provinces the Revenues of which they received in the Year 1790. At that Date, none of the Territory, the Receipts from which are shewn in the Statement No. 2. (B.), had been acquired.

Those Original Possessions were,—

Under the Bengal Presidency,—the Provinces of Bengal, Bahar, Orissa and Benares.

Under the Madras Presidency,—Fort St. George, with the Town of Madras; the Company's Jaghire, in which it is situated; Nagore, Negapatam, Cuddalore, and the Five Northern Circars, viz. Guntoor, Condapilly, Ellore, Rajahmundry and Chicacole.

Under the Bombay Presidency,—the Town and Island of Bombay, the Island of Salsette, Fort Victoria, and a few other Forts on the Coast of Malabar. The Company received also a Part of the Revenues of Surat as Governors of the Castle of Surat, and Commanders of The Nabob's Fleet. In 1800 the Revenues (except a Share reserved for The Nabob) and the Civil and Military Administration of Surat were made over to them. The increased Receipts from that Town are carried to Account as appertaining to an original Possession.

The Districts to which the Receipts and Charges exhibited in the Statement No. 2. (B.) apply are the following:—

The Ceded Districts of Oude.—In 1809-10 the Revenues and Charges of the Provinces which were ceded by The Nabob under the Treaty of the 20th November 1801, in Commutation of Subsidy, and of all other pecuniary Claims of the British Government, are exhibited.—The same Remark is applicable to the whole Period. These Districts lie on the Eastern, Southern and Western Borders of the present Kingdom of Oude, and are bounded on the South by the Jumna, from a Point above Etawah, to its Confluence with the Ganges at Allahabad.

Arcot.—The Receipts and Charges of 1809-10, and throughout the Period, are those of the whole of the Carnatic Payen Ghaut, (or below the Ghauts,) comprehending, for the most part, the Country lying between the Coast of Coromandel and the Ghauts, and stretching from Ongole to Cape Comorin. The Revenues of these Districts, together with the Charge of the Civil and Military Administration, were ceded to the Company by Treaty with The Nabob of Arcot, dated the 31st of July 1801, from which State a Subsidy had previously been received.—It was stipulated in the Treaty, that One Fifth of the Net Revenue (but not exceeding a specified Amount) should be paid to The Nabob, and a Sum set apart annually for the Liquidation of the private Debts of his Predecessors, which Sums are included in the Charges.

Tanjore.—The whole of the Revenues of Tanjore were ceded to the Company in lieu of the Subsidy previously paid under the Treaty of the 25th of October 1799, the Company undertaking the Administration of the Country, and allowing to The Rajah, annually, One Lac of Pagodas, and One Fifth of the Net Revenues, if under a specified Sum. No Alteration has occurred since 1809.

Mysore.—The Treaty of Seringapatam, of 18th March 1792, whereby Tippoo Sultaun consented to surrender Half his Dominions, put the Company in Possession of a Part of them, consisting of Calicut, and the Districts of Barramahal and Dindigul, Provinces of Mysore, bordering on the Carnatic. The Treaty of Mysore of 22d June 1799, after the Death of Tippoo, greatly increased the Company's Share of his former Territories, adding to it the Districts of Malabar, Canara, Salem, Coimbatoor and Seringapatam. As to Situation, the whole, if taken in connection with the Districts in the Ballaghaut, ceded by The Nizam, comprehends nearly all the Territory lying between the Malabar Coast, the River Toombuddra, and the Carnatic, excepting the small States of Travancore and Cochin, and the Territory reserved for the restored Rajah of Mysore. The Receipts from all the Districts acquired directly from Mysore are shewn under this Head. By the last-mentioned Treaty the present Rajah of Mysore agreed to pay Seven Lacs of Pagodas for the Defence of his Dominions, which constitutes an Addition to the Receipts.

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Cessions by The Nizam.—By the Stipulations of several Treaties, The Nizam had engaged to pay a Subsidy to the Company for the Supply of a specified Amount of Force for the Defence of his Dominions. But by the Treaty of 12th October 1800, under which the subsidiary Force was considerably augmented, The Nizam agreed, instead of the Payment of Subsidy, to cede to the Company the Territory formerly belonging to Tippoo, which fell to the Share of The Nizam under the Treaties of Seringapatam and Mysore. This was the Ballaghaut, (or Country above the Ghauts,) and is now divided into the Collectorates of Bellary and Cuddapah. It is situated to the South of the Toombuddra and Kistnah Rivers, and on the East is bounded by the Northern Districts of the Carnatic. It remains the same as at the Cession.—A Sum paid to The Nizam in 1823-24, to enable that Prince to relieve himself from a considerable Debt, and which was received by him in commutation of an annual Payment denominated "Peshcush," is inserted under this Head, from its constituting a pecuniary Transaction with that particular Native Government, although not connected with the Districts above referred to.

Districts ceded by The Guicowar Rajah.—Various Arrangements for the Grant of Districts, the Revenues of which should cover the Expence of a subsidiary Force stationed in the Guicowar Dominions, were extended and consolidated in the Treaty of 21st April 1805, which finally assigned to the Company certain Districts in Guzerat, on or near the Gulf of Cambay, and lying on its Eastern, Northern and Western Shores. Some Villages and Duties belonging to The Guicowar in the Districts of Surat and Broach were also assigned to the Company, and the Revenues of other Pergunnas,—Baroda, Rajpeepla, &c. were secured to them, for the Liquidation of Debts owing by The Guicowar. On the 6th November 1817 a Treaty, called Supplementary to that of 1805, was concluded, stipulating for the Employment of an increased British Force, to meet the Expence of which The Guicowar further ceded his Share of the City of Ahmedabad, and surrendered the perpetual Farm of The Peishwa's Territories subject to that City, which had been secured to him in the same Year by Treaty with The Peishwa. Some Exchange of Districts also took place. An increased Receipt is shewn in the Statement, which was the Result of this Arrangement. The Treaties of 1805 and 1817 still continue in force.

Districts acquired by Cession and Conquest from the Mahrattas.—The Districts of which the Receipts and Charges appear in the Statement under the Head of "Mahratta" consisted in 1809-10 of the following:—

1. The Cessions by The Peishwa under the Treaty of Bassein, dated 31st December 1802, modified by the Supplemental Treaty of 16th December 1803. These consisted, 1st, of the Province of Bundelcund, South of the Jumna, and of the Territories ceded by Oude, which Province is administered by the Bengal Government; and, 2dly, of certain Land Rents, Customs and Duties in the Surat District, which are received by the Bombay Government. These Cessions were made to meet the Charge of a British Force in The Peishwa's Dominions.

2. The Countries conquered from Scindia, consisting, 1st, of Districts in the Dooab, bordering on the Oude Cessions, and situated to the Eastward of the Jumna; also of other Districts to the Westward of that River, including the Cities of Delhi and Agra: these are under the Management of the Bengal Government. —And, 2dly, of the Town of Broach and its Dependencies, administered by that of Bombay. These Territories were surrendered by the Treaty of 30th December 1803, together with Gwalior and Gohud; but the latter Two were given back by the Treaty of 22d November 1805, which also fixed the River Chumbul, from the City of Kotah to the Gohud Boundary, as the Border of Scindia's Dominions towards the Territory acquired by the British Government. Gohud was finally ceded to the British by its Rajah in 1806, in Exchange for other Territory.

3. The Province of Cuttack, in Orissa, lying on the Bay of Bengal, with the Port and District of Balasore, conquered from The Rajah of Berar, and now subject to Bengal. This was surrendered by the Treaty of 17th December 1803. Other Districts, then surrendered, were given up in 1806, with the Exception of the petty State of Royghur, which remains under our Sovereignty.

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No material Alteration took place in regard to the above-mentioned Territories 'till the Year 1817, except that in 1815-16 the Accounts of the Province of Cuttack were incorporated by the Bengal Government with those of the other Districts in Orissa; and Cuttack is thenceforth treated as a Part of the orignal Possessions. But, on the 13th of June 1817, a new Treaty with The Peishwa was entered into, whereby an Addition to the subsidiary Force was provided for, and in return he ceded to the Company all his remaining Territories in Guzerat, with the Tribute of Kattywar, the Northern Concan, (a District South of Guzerat, extending to the Coast,) Darwar and Koosigul, in the Southern Part of his Dominions, and Ahmednuggur, North-east of Poonah, a Fort where the subsidiary Force was stationed. The Occupation of most of the above Districts occasioned an increased Receipt in 1817-18, but the Commencement of Hostilities by The Peishwa occurred in November 1817, and led to a very different Arrangement. The Result, together with that of the Rupture with Holkar, was the Acquisition, by the British Government, of the whole of The Peishwa's Dominions, (except the Territory assigned to the restored Rajah of Sattara,) and all Holkar's Dominions in Candeish. These united extend from the Northern Boundary of the Mysore State to the Sautpoorah Hills, North of the Taptie, and from The Nizam's Country to the Sea. That Territory, together with the Northen Concan and the Guzerat Districts, ceded in 1817, are under the Management of the Bombay Government, and the Revenues are generally considered as realized from Countries acquired from the Mahrattas. Some Exchanges of small Districts, deemed nearly of equal Value, were afterwards effected with The Nizam in 1822.

The Revenues and Charges of the Acquisitions from the Berar Territories in 1818 have been separately classed by the Bengal Government, and in the Parliamentary Accounts, under the Head of "Ceded Territory on the Nerbuddah, &c.," and will next be noticed.

Ceded Territory on the Nerbuddah, &c.—The Districts under this Head which yield the largest Revenue are Jubbulpore, Hussingabad, Baitool, and others, forming a Tract of considerable Breadth and Extent, South and North of the River Nerbuddah, which were conquered from The Rajah of Berar in 1817, and made over by the Treaty of the 6th of January 1818. With these the Bengal Government have usually connected:—First, Districts further North of the Nerbuddah, of the Revenues of which they became possessed, after dislodging from thence the Pindarry Hordes, and subduing the Mahratta Powers. Such are, Saugor, Hutta and Bhopaul. Secondly, the Tributes received since 1818 from several Rajpoot States, extending from the Nerbuddah to Jyepore. Thirdly, the Revenue received from Ajmere, a small District South-west of Jyepore, ceded by Scindia; and that of a few Districts possessed by Holkar previously to 1818, "within, and North of the Boondie Hills," and lying South of Jyepore; which he surrendered by the Treaty of 6th of January of that Year. The present Head, therefore, may be considered as embracing Receipts from Countries in Central India, resulting from the Mahratta War of 1817 and 1818, which are not classed under other Heads.

Subsidy from Travancore.— The Treaty under which The Rajah of Travancore agreed to receive a British Force, consisting of Three Battalions of Sepoys and a Corps of Artillery, and to pay a Subsidy in return, was executed in the Year 1795. An Addition to the Force, of a Regiment of Sepoys, was made in 1805, for which, and for any further Increase of Force that might be required, an Increase of the Subsidy was provided. In Failure of Payment, such Part of the Country as The Governor General should select was to be occupied 'till the Object of the Treaty was fulfilled. Subsequent Disturbances prevented, for a Time, the Realization of the Subsidy; but since the Restoration of a good Understanding, in 1808, it has generally been paid with Punctuality.

Subsidy from Cochin.—The Rajah of Cochin, under the Treaty of the 6th of May 1809, engaged to defray the Expence of One Battalion of Native Infantry, in addition to his "usual Subsidy of One Lac of Rupees," in default of the Payment of which he was liable to an Occupation of his Territory of the same Description as The Rajah of Travancore, above stated. The Receipts shewn in the Account are the Result of that Agreement.

Territories acquired by Conquest from the Burmah State.— These consist of the Provices of Arracan, adjoining the District of Chittagong, and those of Tavoy, Mergui and Tenasserim, on the Bay of Bengal, South of Rangoon, ceded by the Burmese Government under the Treaty of 24th of February 1826, under which, also, that Government surrendered all Right over the Province of Assam, and the smaller States of Cachar and Jyntia. Assam has since been annexed to the British Territories. The Burmese Government also agreed to pay a Crore of Rupees towards the Expence of the War, a Part of which appears as a Receipt in the last Two Years of the Statement.

It may be observed, finally, first, that the Sums appearing in these Accounts can only be considered as an Approximation to Accuracy, as the Accounts kept in India, and especially at Bombay, do not, in all Cases, preserve the Distinction between original and recently acquired Possessions; and secondly, with respect to the "Charges" shewn in the Account No. 2, (B.) that they do not include the Expence of the general Civil Government of the Provinces, or that of their Military Occupation.